Looking back at Yesterday's Oktoberfest Celebration

Ok·to·ber·fest  [ok-toh-ber-fest] noun

1. a traditional festival held each October in Munich, Germany.

2. any similar festival held usually in the autumn.

3. a strong lager made originally in Germany for the Oktoberfest celebration; sweet and copper-colored.

4. an autumn festival that involves merrymaking and drinking beer.

Also, Octoberfest.

Origin: < German; see October, -fest

This Wednesday night, I (rather reluctantly!) participated in my first-ever root beer chugging contest.  The occasion was Bethel’s first-in-many-years Oktoberfest.  Up until a few hours before the event, I had only faint ideas as to what to expect.  While the flyer and map that I had seen, listed an impressive number of entertainment activities, I did not anticipate that the event would turn out this spectacular. 

The festivities began with a delicious potluck dinner consisting of such German staple foods as potato salad, sauerkraut, red cabbage, sausage, and pretzels, followed by “scary desserts,”  followed by an apple pie contest, sponsored Labor Day Retreat Team (MC’d by Molly Schrey and Liz Barton).  The winning pie (out of seven wonderful entries) was Barbara Misch’s delicious creation—judge by all three clergy judges as superior in terms of visual appeal, texture, and taste.  Runner-up winners were Maggie Emmert (2^nd prize) Kathy Arnold (3^rd prize). 

After the apple pie contest, the Oktoberfest activities spilled out from Torvend Hall onto most of the Bethel campus.  There were children’s crafts (corn husk dolls making sponsored by Maggie Emmert), games for younger children (various bean bag tossing games ), games for teenagers and adults (root beer chugging contest sponsored by Bethel’s young adult group, the Network; pie throwing sponsored by Ed Fox; Kathy & Dave Arnold’s home-made  electronic game; various jr. high games sponsored by Robyn Winegardner and Susan Leavitt), children’s book donations (sponsored by Bethel’s library team), card writing (sponsored by Bethel’s Stephen’s ministry group), apple tasting (sponsored by Liz Tribby), and printing on an amazing little letter press (sponsored by Dave Tribby).  For many of these activities, participants could earn raffle tickets.   At the close of these activities, flower arrangements (donated by Sue Jacobus) and gift bags were raffled off in Torvend Hall.  The evening concluded with a closing prayer. 

Thank you to all who made this celebration such a wonderful event that brought together Bethel members and friends of all ages.  In addition to all those who organized games and activities, set up, clean up, and potluck items, a special thank you goes to Patricia Myerholtz, who thought up activities and recruited volunteers for the event. May the fun and joviality of this night bring us closer to each other and help knit the bonds of Christian friendship and love.

P.S.: One question, though, remains for me – given that the Munich Oktoberfest revolves around beer, rather than root beer, was this really an Oktoberfest?

On the Value of Giving

What are the two most frequent topics that Jesus talked about? Was either of the two “love”, “faith”, or “Sabbath”?  No.  The two topics that Jesus addressed most frequently were the Kingdom of God and … money.  Compare that to us modern Christians, and you’ll soon notice that we are confused, at best, about the meaning of God’s Kingdom, and that we are reluctant, to say the least, to talk to one another about money—how we regard it, how we earn it, how we manage it, and how we spend it.  For that reason, I want to do now just that – talk about God’s kingdom and about money.

Two Scripture passages come to my mind – Leviticus 1 and Luke 22.  The former describes in great detail the manner in which the ancient Israelites were to make burnt offerings to God.  The latter retells Jesus’ celebration of the Lord’s Supper with his disciples.  Both are very different passages, both in style and substance.  But both have in common that they present us with acts of giving, acts in which the giver doesn’t expect to receive anything material in return.  In Leviticus, animals, grain, and incense is burnt on God’s altar as a form of thanksgiving to God.  In Luke, Jesus gives himself away – his body, his blood, his very life – without expecting to receive anything in return.  Grain, meat, oil –they were the ancient equivalent of money. When people burnt them on God’s altar, it was as if we were to take our offering plates, place them on the altar, and then tossed in match, burning up everyone’s money or checks (o.k., I know that that’s illegal for us to do in the U.S.).

Offering the grain, the meat, and the oil was an act of worship in ancient Israel, an instance in which the Israelites were invited to give up something of value as a sacrifice to God.  When we are invited to put our money into the offering plates … that’s an act of worship, too.  Contrary to what many may think, we are invited to put our money into the offering plate not because the church needs our money, but because we want and need to give it.  Mark Allan Power writes that “we have a spiritual need to worship God and through our offerings we are able to express our love and devotion to God in a way that is simple and sincere.”[i]

Jesus, however, teaches us that the giving of money or its equivalents is not all that is required of those whom he called to participate in the building of God’s Kingdom.  Jesus did not merely give away his possessions (and asked others to do the same); rather, Jesus gave himself away and his very life in service to others, in service to the salvation of the world. While most of us are not willing nor able to make such a profound sacrifice, Jesus reminds us that those who give themselves away in service to others in the name of Jesus will gain eternal life (Matthew 16:25). 

To me, our service worship last Sunday was a token of such giving away.  The point of the service worship was not so much that the “haves” do something nice for the “have-nots.”  If that were the main point, our service worship would leave the social hierarchies between the well-off and the poor unchallenged and leave unquestioned the economic system that makes the poor poorer and the rich richer. 

I hope and pray that this service worship may strengthen in us the firm belief that Jesus has abolished the dividing line between the rich and the poor, as well as the housed and the homeless.  Jesus has come to remind us that we all are one and need one another.  We are all guests in God’s “kin-dom.”  We are one body of Christ, and together we can do work toward eradicating hunger and abolishing poverty. 

During our service worship Sunday, many among the Bethel community had opportunities to work alongside others, to encounter folks who have less than we, and to learn from them, and be changed in the process.  To me, being changed by God through the act of service is a goal that is just as important as to feed the hungry.  True change, true justice and peace won’t come about until we learn that we all need one another, that we each have something of value that we can share with the human community.

---

[i] Mark Allann Powell, Giving to God: The Bible’s Good News about Living a Generous Life (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006, p. 12.

Some Thoughts Occasioned by Bethel's First Service Worship

A few years ago, on October 14, 2008, a story was published in the British newspaper The Telegraph about a Methodist pastor in North Wales, the Rev. Derek Rigby, who shamed his own congregation by dressing up as a homeless man and sitting on the front steps of his own church on a Sunday morning dressed in old clothes, dirty, hidden beneath a wig, smelling from beer which he had poured all over his clothes.   Rev. Rigby then settled on a pew in the church, surrounded by syringes and began drinking from a can of beer.  None of the worshippers at his church spoke to him or offered him any help.  Eventually, the 51-year-old pastor then took off his wig to reveal his true identity, before delivering a sermon based on the failure of the disciples to recognize Jesus Christ on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection.   Rev. Rigby later commented on the incident, saying, “It was interesting to see the reaction from people - I was totally ignored.  It showed that we don't recognize God at work and in each other.”

At Bethel, we talk a lot these days about radical hospitality.  We strive to be more welcoming to visitors, to have a more appealing welcome zone, to be more competent in our knowledge about other cultures, and to more intentionally serve the needs of the community around us.  But how radical is our hospitality really?  And is our hospitality about being nice and kind or is it connected to justice?

In biblical times, hospitality and justice went hand in hand; radical, justice-oriented hospitality was a foundation of all morality in biblical times.  Take for example, the following verses from the prophet Isaiah: 

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?  Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am."  (Isaiah 58:6-9)

Serving the poor, sharing our bread with the hungry and helping the homeless to secure housing, are – according to God – the kind of religious ritual (“fast”) that he prefers.  When we are following his word in such a way, God’s glory will reveal itself to us. 

Jesus, too, modeled such radical hospitality when he opened the banquet table to all.  Everyone is welcome to the wedding feast; all are entitled to feast abundantly at God’s banquet table and not just gather the crumbs that fall off the table.

My hope for our first service worship is that we may not simply serve other less fortunate individuals, but that we truly allow God to change us in the process of such service.  My hope is that we serve AND listen and that we hear God’s voice in the voices spoken to us throughout the day. 

Let my close by quoting Seattle pastor to the homeless mentally ill community, Craig Rennebohm, who wrote that “we care for the soul of the world by caring for the souls of our neighbor, for each life that touches ours” (Craig Rennebohm and David Paul, Souls in the Hands of a Tender God:  Stories of the Search for Home and Healing on the Street, p.175).  May we be truly touched this Sunday by God and we serve God’s children!

How to Be Fully Alive

"The glory of God is a human being who is fully alive.”
(Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons, 2nd century A.D.)

The above quote is one of my favorite quotes out of the annals of church history.  It reminds me that I don’t have to work at being extraordinarily beautiful in order to reflect God’s breathtaking beauty.  In fact, animals, plants, and rocks all have in common that they don't have to work at being beautiful; they just EXIST and that’s what makes them beautiful and that's what gives meaning and purpose to their being.  Likewise, God created each and every one of us with a unique purpose that only we can fulfill.  There is nothing complicated or stress-filled about being who we truly are. “Tapping into our inner desires, dreams and God’s special will for us enables us to have the same kind of freedom that all of creation basks in. When we grasp this truth and claim it for ourselves God is glorified and we enter into the life that we were truly meant to live!”[1]

I spent the last weekend not in the US, but in Tijuana, Mexico, as some among you may  know.  When I first read about Bethel’s adult mission trip to Mexico, I jumped at the opportunity to participate.  Little did I expect then that I might be the least fit, the least strong, and the least adept at Mexican construction techniques among the group.  Alas! I am really glad that I went – as one of 4 “newbies” to this ministry; and I hope that some among the Bethel community who have never gone on this trip, would consider participating next year.

In working alongside the new home owners, a group of Mexican college students, and the group of Bethel volunteers, I felt truly alive.  Not only did I feel everyone of my muscles, not only did I ache, pant, and sweat, but I was elated.  I immediately saw the impact of my labor (which I often don't get to see as a pastor), I watched the pride of the new home owners, I watched how their work, their sacrifices, and their life choices empowered them.  I witnessed "raw" emotions -- tears, joy, exhaustion, laughter, shame, guilt, forgiveness -- emotions that we North Americans so often hide behind a happy facade or masque.  I was blessed to feel the heat of the sun, the joy of friendship, and the refreshing chill of drinking  water.

Saint Irenaeus reminds us that as we find our purpose, as we practice God's love, as we promote mercy and compassion, we implicitly also witness to God's glory. God's glory inhabits us, makes its home within us, as we seek to love others as he first loved us.

I had departed on the journey to Tijuana with a bit of skepticism: Was the purpose of this trip that we end up feeling a bit better about ourselves and our excess affluence?  Was this more a feel-good mission --  making me feel good about myself similar to the way I may feel after giving money to a homeless person? I have come away from this journey, though, with a great sense of appreciation for this project.

Early on during the mission trip I heard about other organizations working to build homes in Tijuana.  One of them - Amor Ministries - has developed a model where, in only three days, a group of international volunteers builds a wooden house for a Tijuana family.  The advantage of this model, obviously, is that the volunteers are able to immediately see the gratifying outcome of their work -- a completed home.  The disadvantages include, in my mind, that the house will deteriorate faster than a concrete structure and that the receiving family has less involvement in the process of constructing their new home.

Bethel works with a Mexican partner organization named "Fundacion Esperanza de Mexico."  Esperanza's philosophy entails that international volunteers work alongside marginalized people in Mexico.  The organization's mission is to build dignified, sustainable homes, mutually accountable communities in the "colonies" surrounding Tijuana, and respect and solidarity among US and Mexican participant.  Once a family has been accepted into the program, the have to prove that they own the plot, they have to raise 10% of the cost of the construction materials (the remainder will be loaned to them by Esperanza or a micro loan bank), and they will manufacture all the cement blocks used for the foundation and walls of their home-to-be (communities often work together on this).  In addition, Esperanza teaches money management, hygiene, and other skills.

In result of this approach families in the Esperanza program are deeply invested in the construction process.  They are also expected to provide lunch for the volunteers working at their site.  While building dignified homes for marginalized people is the primary mission of Esperanza, the organization's secondary mission is to foster solidarity and cultural awareness across the US-Mexico border.

Building homes with Esperanza is not an act of charity, where one party is the giver and the other the recipient of aid.  The Esperanza process involves truth telling (i.e., breaking down cultural stereotypes and learning to see the true face, hopes, and reality of the "other"), empowerment (the families entering the Esperanza program take pride in learning new construction, money management, and health-care skills; they learn to set their hopes high and work towards goals), and justice (marginalized people get to live under less precarious conditions; the privileged share some of their resources).

To me, this mission trip embodies my favorite passage from Psalm 85:
     Mercy and truth meet,
     justice and peace will kiss each other.

     Truth will spring up from the ground,
     and justice will look down from the sky.  (Psalm 85:10-11)

Here are 10 things I learnt over the last weekend:

1. Houses in Mexico are MUCH smaller.
2. Often, they are constructed from a hodgepodge of materials.
3. 19 people working together can pour one entire concrete roof in a day.
4. One can communicate very well without many words across the cultures; smiling helps a lot.
5. I made a new best friend by the name of Advil.
6. My iPhone makes pretty decent photos and can be stored in a pocket of my work shorts.
7. Concrete splatters all over you, even if all you do is to catch empty buckets.
8. Home-made Mexican food is very different from food we eat in US Mexican restaurants.  It is MUCH better.
9. It feels oh sooo good to enjoy a cold beer at the end of a hard day.
10. Most Mexicans would prefer to live in their own country, rather than to come to the US in search for work.

Thank you for reading my reflections.  May god bless the three families on whose future homes we worked with peace, good health, and prosperity.

[1]  This quote comes from an article written by Canadian /songwriter and author Barb Elyett.  www.barbelyett.com.